She is a proud mum to son Cooper and daughter Coco who she shares with husband Ronan Keating, and the Boyzone star’s three kids from his previous marriage.
And speaking about her family, Storm Keating has insisted her priority is her son and her step-children – so much so, that she doesn’t regret giving up her career in TV to ensure she doesn’t miss out on important family time.
Appearing on Loose Women on Monday, the former producer and director, 39, recalled breaking down in tears when Ronan’s daughter Ali, now 15, questioned why she was ‘always working’ and never around for family dinners.
Family first: Storm Keating insists she doesn’t regret giving up her career in TV as she revealed how she now realises her kids have to take priority while appearing on Loose Women
Storm explained that at the time when she first started dating singer Ronan, she was working on The Voice UK.
It involved working long hours – sometimes she wouldn’t get home until 2 o’clock in the morning – and would often mean she was forced to miss out on seeing Ronan and his kids.
‘When I first met Ro I was very independent and adamant I would stay in the work place. When I moved to London I was working on The Voice UK and it was the first time I realised when children are involved sometimes your priorities have to shift,’ Storm told the panel.
Ronan is dad to daughters Ali, Missy, 20, and son Jack, 22, from his former relationship with ex-wife Yvonne.
Proud mum: The producer and director is mum to son Cooper and daughter Coco (above) who she shares with husband Ronan Keating, as well as his three kids from his former marriage
Emotional: Storm said she made the decision to give up work after breaking down in tears after missing a family dinner and Ronan’s daughter questioning why she was never around (pictured above: Jack Keating, Missy Keating, Storm with son Cooper, Ronan and daughter Coco)
Storm continued: ‘Back then they were much younger this is 2012. They were all off to dinner one night and I was working late again and Ali said, “Is Storm coming? She’s always working why can’t she say she’s sick?”
‘I got home at about 2am at night and Ronan told me this story and I just burst into tears. That’s when I decided, I’ll find something else.’
Realising that she now had a family to put first, Storm said: ‘My priority had to be those three kids and making sure we built that security for them.’
On whether she regrets giving up her career in television, Storm said that while she ‘misses’ it, she knows she made the right decision.
Moving on: Storm insisted she made the right decision and doesn’t regret no longer working in television, but admitted she does ‘miss’ it
Brood: Storm says she loves being a mum and step-mum and thinks of Ronan’s older kids as her own – she welcomed son Cooper in 2017 and daughter Coco last year (pictured above)
‘I miss working in television but I don’t regret it because I have a wonderful family,’ she said, as she revealed she thinks of Ronan’s children as her own.
‘I absolutely adore them like my own. Earlier, I referred to them as my daughter or my kids and you had to clarify step kids and I’m like, “Oh that’s right! They are!”‘
During her interview, Storm also touched on her first marriage with ex Tim Ivers and revealed that she and her ex-husband, who wed back in 2009, are no longer in contact.
She explained: ‘My first boyfriend was in university and then I married him and then after we parted ways, I met Ro and married him. So, I’ve had two relationships in my life.’
‘Falling in love when you’re younger, you don’t necessarily know what love is,’ she claimed, as she reflected on her first relationship.
In love: Storm also touched on being married prior to meeting Boyzone star Ronan and revealed she is no longer in touch with her ex-husband (pictured with husband Ronan)
‘I thought it was love and you go through the motions together and you might buy a house and have children. Thankfully it didn’t get that far,’ she said, before adding” ‘He’s a lovely guy.’
Asked if they are still in touch, Storm revealed: ‘No – not because it ended badly, it ended really well.
‘But I moved to this side of the world and I think he’s off in New York or something now. You kind of drift apart, don’t you? We have nothing to connect us, no children.’
Storm first began dating Ronan in 2011 after meeting him while working on the Australian version of The X Factor.
They married four years later in August 2015 and have since welcomed two children together.
The couple’s son Cooper was born in April 2017 and they later welcome their daughter Coco in March last year, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Health battle: Months after giving birth to daughter Coco in March 2020, Storm was forced to have emergency spinal surgery and is now required to undergo a full year of rehabilitation
Months after giving birth Storm was forced to have emergency spinal surgery and revealed last month that she is now required to undergo a full year of rehabilitation as she continues to recover.
In an interview with The Mirror, Storm explained: ‘You’ve got to give the nerves 12 months post-surgery. It’s a long time to wait but between now and then I’m on a rigorous programme that will ease up as I get stronger.
‘It wasn’t until the surgeon said it was a success that I broke down,’ she said of her reaction to the surgery.
‘Then I had a couple of weeks with waves of emotions. You start to panic. You realise what your life would’ve looked like and that I wouldn’t have been able to drive to school, or gone on holidays.’
Of her recovery Storm added: ‘My view definitely changed a lot since I had that scare. I’m still going through rehabilitation at the minute.
‘I’m not 100 per cent perfect, but I’m very guilty of never making time for myself. I don’t have a good balance. But now I believe you can’t ignore your body. You’ve got to make time and look after yourself.’
Only way is up: Storm urged others to ‘look after yourself’ as she said finding out she could have been paralysed left her emotional and changed her outlook on life (pictured with Ronan)